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Raleigh, N.C. — Zora Carlin’s parents cried and prayed when she had her first seizure at 6 months old.

Zora, now 5, has up to 60 seizures a day, which have slowed her development and could kill her.

On Thursday, tears and uncertainty turned to joy when Zora’s parents learned that Gov. Pat McCrory will sign a measure legalizing the use of CBD oil to treat seizures.

“It takes your heart out and stomps on it every time,” Zora’s father, Steve, said of the seizures.

“All you can do is sit there and tell her you love her,” said her mother, Dawn.

Zora has a rare, hard-to-treat and debilitating form of epilepsy known as Dravet Syndrome, which there is no cure. Her parents say they have tried 14 different medications, various diets, vitamins and supplements, but they’ve had little to no effect on their daughter’s condition.

"She would rip the skin off her legs and scratch herself until she is bleeding - bang her head," Dawn Carlin said of the medications.

CBD stands for cannabidiol, a compound found in marijuana. The oil is being increasingly used by doctors to treat intractable seizure disorders, especially in children, for which other therapies are ineffective and often toxic.

As of now, the oil is illegal in North Carolina – until McCrory signs House Bill 1220 into law.

“This law will help ease the suffering endured by children from whom no other treatments are effective against their seizures,” the governor said in a statement Thursday. “I want to congratulate the General Assembly for crafting a bill that not only improves the lives of many North Carolina children and their parents, but also provides common sense regulation and facilitates clinical research at our major research universities.”

The measure passed the House 112-1 and the Senate 45-0.

As the bill moved through the legislature, Steve Carlin attended committee meetings and spoke about his daughter’s condition.

notexactlyJul 3, 2014

Especially, in NC which is the California of the east coast when it comes to cultivation.

— Posted by Enough is Enough People

Cultivation of what? I guess I don't understand your post

notexactlyJul 3, 2014

To the comment about the revenue pot would bring in to the state. Perhaps your right, but last I checked both Colorado and cali are way deep in debt. So where did the money go? I know cali is one of the worse states in the union for money problems, the next is new York ( both heavily controlled by dems and has been for decades. It really don't matter about the revenue if the leaders spend it all on bogus things.

Brandy LeeJul 3, 2014

SCUBAGIRL and STRAWBERRY beth - agree with you both totally and would love to chat. Have missed you since GOLO. We have a FB group. I am sure I can't list the address here but do a search

KnowsItAllJun 27, 2014

"Its a child for crying out loud."

why should children be treated any differently than adults? are you saying it's ok if an adult is writing in pain? it's ok that an adult can't get the medicine they need? why should compassion be reserved only for children?

Beth PearceJun 27, 2014

GREAT NEWS!

WralCensorsAreBiasJun 27, 2014

Hopefully it symbolizes hope for legalization of it to cover all the short falls this pathetic state is going to expect us to cover.

Ask CO and OR how many millions beyond their wildest projections they've taken in.

Forthe NewssiteJun 27, 2014

View quoted thread

A funny note, I always see that statement about common sense coming from those who have very little or none.

— Posted by Malakai Bluebone

I certainly have more than quite a few on here but you believe what you want with your insulting post.

LetsBeFairJun 27, 2014

they need to just legalize pot altogether. maybe everyone will just calm down.

Maurice Pentico Jr.Jun 27, 2014

View quoted thread

Mep,

You obviously have never tried to live off walmart of mcdonald wages. I assure you that you won't support a child with serious medal disorders and move state to state.

Whats the problem with going to your representatives like what has been done for a change in law?

You would rather cut and run to another state?

— Posted by WageSlave

If it comes to my daughter having seizures each day... YES! And WAITING for the govt to change a law is pretty selfish. And I can work more than one job... and it doesnt have to pay minimum wage job.

Its a child for crying out loud.You dont wait for the govt to act when it comes to your children. DUH!

WordtothewiseJun 27, 2014

In fact, Paul Armentano, deputy director of theNational Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, says CBD-only laws “will likely be unworkable and will most likely provide no tangible relief or protection for the patient community they are intended to serve. These laws provide the illusion of progress, but little if any actual progress for those patients in immediate need.”

Armentano also worries that such efforts offer lawmakers a convenient excuse for not passing more comprehensive medical cannabis legislation—the kind that could have helped Cash Hyde, along with millions of others who want a safer, often more effective alternative to pharmaceuticals. Whatever happens next, however, we already know these parents won't be taking no for an answer. So the only question is: Where can increasingly desperate families find CBD in the meantime?